


The Newness of Time

by bluebatwings



Series: unremembering [7]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Magnus POV, Taako POV, before unremembering, mentions of lup/barry, post-the endurance of together, the stolen century era, this fic is a celebration of the number 69
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 02:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12785439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebatwings/pseuds/bluebatwings
Summary: It's been years and it's still like this, new and exciting and lovely. Magnus wants to celebrate it (among other things).





	The Newness of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Ever had someone have you yell "sixty-niiiiiiine!" while taking a picture of you but it turns out they were actually taking a video? What a good number, 69 is.

It was years before they finally just decided to fucking do it. It was also the result of a very drunk night and the happenstance of them realizing it was year 69. Magnus had erupted into a fit of giggles, a hand over his mouth to try to stifle the noise. Taako had laughed too, not knowing why yet, but drunk and happy enough to not particularly care. 

It had been an easy (motherfucking _lucky_ ) start to the cycle when, just a few days earlier on their sixth day here they found the Light. No one was saying _we deserve this,_ but they all felt it well enough; the previous cycle had been… bad. Not _Lucretia left alone_ bad, but near to it. The twins had suffered, and so, inevitably, had everyone else. A miserable year was forced to play out with the absences of one Magnus Burnsides and one Barry Bluejeans, both dead before the _Starblaster_ had even touched down, constant on everybody’s minds. Nobody blamed Lup and Taako for their year-long bad mood, but the start of a fresh year was a great relief. The power of their combined misery nearly broke them all, for the first time in almost 70 years.

But nobody was more grateful to have Barry and Magnus back than their respective partners. Their separate reunions were equally enthusiastic (loud, very loud), resulting the next day in the twins high-fiving a lot and Magnus and Barry both wearing sheepish but pleased looks. Everyone rolled their eyes, but they were glad to have the boys back too. 

A week into their 69th cycle, Magnus and Taako are drinking very good wine (given to them by grateful locals and hey, who are they to turn down such a nice gift?) to excess, and toasting the number 69, loudly and repeatedly.

“Hey, we should do something to celebrate,” Magnus says, refilling their glasses from the next bottle.

“Like sixty-nining a bunch? Because, dude, that is definitely on the agenda.”

Magnus’s cheeks go red, and it’s adorable to Taako that it still gets him like that, like they haven’t been fucking for the last fifty years, like it’s still new and special. Taako suddenly feels immensely lucky.

“I mean, yeah, obviously, because that’s-- awesome.” He’s clearly flustered, visualizing, maybe, imagining, remembering. But then he shakes his head fast and says, “Uh, but something else, too. Something new.”

“Okay,” Taako says, sipping from his glass. “What did you have in mind?”

Nothing, it turns out, because Magnus is drunk and rambling, but so is Taako, so he doesn’t mind. He also doesn’t mind when Magnus pulls him in, kissing him, sudden and hard, and _god,_ Taako hadn’t truly understood what missing Magnus had done to him until he got him back. How he’d grown sad and slow over a year’s time, lonely and afraid. He lets Magnus lick past his lips, squeezing his eyes shut and holding on tight. He’d missed this, but he’d missed his company, too. The first person that wasn’t Lup that Taako had let in, really, had actually let himself care about. And they’re old men now, maybe, by Magnus’s human standards, definitely, and Taako still finds that he wants him, wants to be _with_ Magnus, always. Magnus slowly, drunkenly, thoroughly removes their clothes, and Taako tells him “I love you,” as Magnus slides into him.

~

He wakes up to the feeling of a mouth on his neck, annoyed and pleased at the same time.

“How dare,” Taako mutters, trying to roll over and go back to sleep. Magnus may be insatiable and have like, plus-one million stamina, but Taako likes to _sleep._ Blanket pulled tight up around his shoulders, he starts to drift off again. 

“Hey,” Magnus whispers.

“Shh,” Taako says, “sleeping.”

A pause, and then-- “Taako. Hey. Taako.”

“Magnus, I am trying to be delicate, dear, but shut the fuck up.”

And Magnus _is_ quiet for a moment, and then he fucking says Taako’s name again. Taako sits up fast and turns, feeling his life force drain with every second of lost sleep.

“Oh my _god_ , what is it that can’t wait until a decent hour?”

Magnus is still lying back against his pillow, smiling, looking serene as fuck. Taako is going to kill him. “You know, you’re angry when you’re beautiful,” he says and, okay, fine. Taako softens a bit.

“You and your three a.m. sweet talk. You know I prefer this type of thing in the light of day, in public places where everyone can hear.” He slumps back down onto the bed, more awake and less annoyed. Magnus is bare-chested and looking sexy as hell, but Taako doesn’t want to set a precedent and reward bad behavior. 

“Hey,” Magnus says again, in that soft tone from before. “Taako.” He runs a hand over Taako’s fingertips, into the spaces between his fingers. “Do you want to marry me?”

It could almost be a joke. _Haha, I woke you up at a dumbass time of night just to bug you, to ask you inane nonsense questions, did you miss me or what?_ Taako almost thinks that’s what it is, except the look on Magnus’s face is so soft and loving, his fingers still gently caressing Taako’s own. He waits patiently while Taako just stares.

“That’s-- um.” He’s not at a loss for words often, and Magnus, fuck him, just keeps smiling.

“Been thinking about it, for a while. And now I’m thinking it could be our way to celebrate.”

“That would be…” Taako’s mind is reeling. “Well.”

“If you’ll have me,” Magnus says, turning shy now and, oh shit, Taako is fucking this up. “I kind of super want to marry you, Taako.”

Taako’s running on a very few hours of sleep and a few bottles of wine, and it’s almost like Magnus is speaking a different language. Except, when the words finally process, he realizes, that’s not true. The thought settles into him, quiet and deep. Magnus is patient, he doesn’t even look nervous. He looks, in fact, quite sure. And it makes Taako breathe and think easier. He says,

“This is gonna be one hell of a party, my man.”

~

Lup assumes the role of maid of honor without even really being asked, and Barry cries when they say they want him to be their best man. It’s almost a knock-out fight between Merle and Davenport over who should officiate-- Davenport claims it’s his duty as captain and Merle just keeps yelling about his clerical rights. (Eventually Lucretia flips a coin and Merle doesn’t stop gloating about it for the rest of time.) Lucretia agrees to do a reading for them and, after much begging, helps Magnus write his vows. Taako, of course, takes food preparation into his own hands. When the IPRE decide to party, they party. 

But now, the kitchen is in chaos and so, it appears, is Taako. It _appears_ that way, probably, but only because it’s true. Taako just won’t admit it. It’s not that he doesn’t want this, he’s not slightly falling apart because he’s unsure or questioning or-- he grabs a measuring cup and wildly pours flour into it, puffs of white floating into his face. Lup finds him like that, in his apparent chaos.

There’s cake everywhere. It’s just… everywhere, covering every available surface. Some are decorated with delicate swirls of frosting, others cut apart with whole chunks missing from the middle. Taako is aware of how it looks, and says only, “Grab a fork.”

Lup blinks at the kitchen. “Lotta cake,” she says.

“I need you to taste-test for me.” Taako starts digging into the jar of cocoa powder with a measuring spoon, adding it to the mixing bowl none too gently. Lup peers at the ingredients scattered on the counter.

“How many cakes are there, Taako?”

The timer on the oven dings, and Taako drops his spoon, quickly spelling his hands to make them heat-resistant. Switching out one pan for another in the oven and setting the next to bake, Taako says,

“This one makes sixteen.”

“Whoof,” Lup says. Taako spins around suddenly, cake still in an oven mitt-less hand and says,

_”What?”_

Lup raises an eyebrow, and then raises her hands as if to surrender (or calm Taako down). “Nothing, nothing, just… do you think you’re feeding the entire planet?”

Taako rolls his eyes and says, “They’re not _all_ for the wedding, I just need to find the right recipe. So grab a fork, sit down, and start eating.”

It’s manic, all of this is, he can feel it, he just can’t explain or stop it. Lup either humors him or is just really in the mood for cake because she gets a knife and starts cutting. Taako goes back to his mixing.

Lup chatters while she eats, and Taako only listens with half an ear. “Can you believe you two are getting married and it’s all thanks to me? I can’t wait to give a beautiful, heart-wrenching speech and make everyone cry.” She laughs and sips at a mug of coffee that’s been mostly hidden among the cakes on the table. “Man, why didn’t I think to get married on year 69, that was genius.”

“Well, Magnus is more than just a pretty face.” But then Lup’s words register and Taako pauses. “You and Barry don’t want to get married anyway.” Lup looks over at Taako. She taps her fork against her plate, watching him.

“True,” she says, like she’s treading gently and _oh no,_ Taako thinks, _here it comes._ “But that’s just for us.”

“Because it’s pointless?” Taako says. He doesn’t quite look in Lup’s direction. “Because after all these years, why bother, right? Like, what’s the point of all this besides getting to throw a party and wear dope clothes? Because Magn-- Barry knows _you_ love him, doesn’t need more than that, so why would he ask? Does he want something to change? Does he want _more_? What could possibly be more than decades of a committed, exclusive relationship? How are you supposed to make the right cake to accompany that situation?”

Without realizing, Taako has begun mixing so furiously that the bowl looks in danger of blasting off. Lup appears at his side and puts a hand on his elbow, slowing him.

“Whoa,” she says, and then, “think you might need to change that _Barry_ to _Magnus_ and that _you_ to _I_?”

 _Valid,_ Taako thinks, but doesn’t say. Instead, he starts gathering ingredients for the next recipe, a variation on number six, which substitutes salt for the weird (possibly slightly addictive) salt-like substance native to this plane. 

“Okay, first of all, give me the spoon. The spoon, Taako,” she says, fingers outstretched and wiggling when Taako resists. “And sit. Tell me what’s going on.”

Taako sighs dramatically, dropping into a chair in front of a table full of just an absurd amount of cake. “Nothing’s _going on_ , it’s my wedding, excuse me for wanting everything to be perfect.”

“Twenty full-size sample cakes is a little beyond perfectionism, bro. And you know Magnus, it’s not like something like this is going to make or break the day. Besides, you’ve already monologued your real issues, so don’t try to fuck around with me.”

Lup can do this sometimes, practically read his damn mind, magic-free, and Taako can never decide if he likes it or hates it. Or something in between. But maybe he kind of wishes that she could _actually_ read his mind because it would be so much easier than trying to explain it right now. The swirl of confusion and excitement and doubt bogs him down, makes his thinking slow and unsure. He didn’t feel like this at first-- it was _time_ , too much damn time to think and question and not communicate properly. Now he’s lost in a spiral of contrasting thoughts and he doesn’t know what to do with them, so he started baking.

“You don’t feel the need to get married.” It’s a desperate play, maybe, but Taako’s at a loss.

“Okay, but that’s us,” Lup repeats, “that’s how me and Barry do. Doesn’t have to be the same for you. Different strokes, and all that.” Her voice gets serious, makes Taako pay attention. “Do you want to do this Taako? Like, for real?”

It’s a question already asked and answered by both Magnus and himself, and it hasn’t changed. “Yes,” he says.

“Then why the freak out?”

And that’s the question he hasn’t found the answer to yet. Because it just leads to different, more horrifying questions-- _what if we do this and everything changes and gets fucked up? What if I’m a godawful husband and we both regret this? What if Magnus thinks we needed this because something is wrong?_

He can’t say these things to Lup, can’t say them to Magnus. It’s self-sabotage at this point, which Taako excels at, and he thinks Lup can see it. 

“Do you love him?”

Taako responds without thinking. “I do. I want to marry him and for him to be my husband and for everyone to know it.” It’s an easy and selfish reasoning, and very on brand for Taako, so it must be true. He focuses on that, holds onto it, for both of them. He wants this, and he won’t let himself talk himself out of it.

Lup smiles and picks up her fork again. “Then let’s choose a fucking cake.”

~

Barry cries again when Magnus shows him the rings. Which Magnus feels is a completely justified response, because they’re awesome. He worked hard on them, and it shows-- he’s never been so proud of anything he’s made. 

“Credit where it’s due, though,” Magnus says, examining the ring that Taako will wear, “Reggie’s the bomb.”

The local blacksmith not only graciously let Magnus use his facilities to make the rings, but actually taught him how (thank god for grateful locals, with some rustic hospitality thrown in for good measure). Magnus picked up the skill quickly, a natural craftsman, Reggie had called him, and after only one or two failed attempts ended up with these. 

“They’re beautiful, Magnus,” Barry says, holding the bigger one meant for Magnus’s own finger. The rounded silver is perfectly smooth on the inside and the outside has been delicately engraved by Magnus. The rings have matching simple designs carved into them, small entwining lines that Magnus meticulously labored over. They _are_ beautiful, if he does say so himself. 

“Will you hold onto them for us until the wedding?” Magnus asks, dropping the other one into Barry’s palm. Barry closes his hand around the rings. 

“Of course,” he says. “I’d be honored. You guys are my family, my brothers. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Magnus laughs. “Don’t let Taako hear you say that, who knows what manic plans he’ll drag you into.”

“Lup’s been filling me in on some of his… plans,” Barry says with a nervous laugh. “It’s frightening, to say the least. Apparently I should never ask him about what he’s thinking about wearing.”

“Oh _shit._ ” A look of horror dawns on Magnus’s face as he realizes, and _oh shit._ “I need something to wear.”

~

Taako’s wedding clothes are fabulous, of course, and Magnus ends up thinking that he himself doesn’t look too shabby, either, but that’s not what really matters to him. (He knows it’s not what _really_ matters to Taako either, but they both have their own ideals for the day-- Magnus runs the thumb of his left hand over where the ring will sit and smiles.) The details are just that-- _details_ ; they’ve both been alive too long to think that in five years, ten, twenty, fifty, it will matter. Magnus simply wants to marry Taako, the man he loves and will always love, he’s sure, no matter what. He can’t imagine any scenario where he would stop loving Taako, it’s _in_ him, deep in his bones now, in the beating of his heart. He says as much, out loud, in front of his friends, his _family_ , at an altar, and can’t help the tears that form in his eyes and leave tracks down his cheeks.

Taako touches him on the arm and recites his own vows, softly and gently, in that way that he has that’s often reserved for Magnus, for when they speak of such things. Magnus clears his throat, blinking hard when Barry hands them the rings and with that, they’re married, Merle declaring it loudly and jovially. Magnus kisses Taako, pouring everything he can into it like it’s all he’s got and he wants Taako to have every bit of it.

Later, much later, Taako will find the ring among his belongings in the caravan with Sazed. He’ll figure it’s something he pilfered and forgot about, will think he should see how much he can get for it. But he won’t. When he looks at it, something inside of him will ping but it’s fuzzy, like static in the brain, almost. Whenever this happens, he’ll pack it away with a shrug, forgetting about it until the next time he finds it. It doesn’t mean anything. Until it will again.

Those days will come, eventually. But long before that, there is a hell of a wedding.


End file.
